CF power consumption

[iodine]

as not all CF cards are created equal, I suspect that the choice of CF card can have an impact on batter life.
Does anyone have any figures(or know a site) on power consumption of differing cards.

I'm wondering if a 256Mb carb, might draw less power than a 512Mb one.
or perhaps it's the other way around (smaller cast chips?) as well as differing between manufacturers. or between differnt speeds ultra/pro etc

As everyone is trying to eek out as much battery life as possible, and buying more expensive higher capacity batteries, is anyone paying attention to the source of the problem. you can't change the internals of the camera, but CF decision might make a differnce.

I would consider paying more, for a lower power CF card.
If only i knew which was what, and where to get these odd brands.

any experiences/info welcome..

Tia

[NHL]

What you'll find out is eventhough there are numerous brands on the distribution side, most flashes are kind of sourced/OEM/Partnered only from a handful of foundries in the FarEast, and their specs are kind of generic. The power consumed varies with how much read/write accesses the camera performed, and at idle the power is quite negligible regardless of size... :lol:

http://www.sandisk.com/oem/cf-spec.htm

[iodine]

ok, here's what i mean.

delkin 8 to 512Mb cards

Power Consumption
25mA (Typ) at 3.3±5%
45mA (Typ) at 5v±10%


lexar
Read Current 65mA at 5V; 50 mA at 3.3V rms
Write Current 65 mA at 5V; 50mA at 3.3V rms


so typically, delkin are drawing about half the power of the lexar..
This has to have a noticeable impact on battery life.

[iodine]

sandisk
Read 21 mA (3.3V) 34 mA (5V)
Write 21 mA (3.3V) 34 mA (5V)


so sandisk are looking good so far,

[NHL]

I don't think you can go by thoses numbers... They are not absolute! ie what does typical mean and how are they tested? The Lexar may draw more current but is this @ 40x? or is the Sandisk/Delkin only at 8x? :lol: :lol: :lol:

I bet if you stuff both cards in a camera and leave it on for a week, the camera would still run; however, if you shoot continually the camera with either card for 1-hr they will probably die at the same time since the power consumption of the camera probably overwhelms what little the CF card actually draws!

Now with a microdrive that's slightly different :P

[iodine]

yes, i guess the lcd screen is the power drainer.

still every little helps.
It would be nice if someone (independent) did some tests.
off to check the review sites again.

[DonalDuc]

power consumption of microdrive ~ 10x power of flash card.

standby/sleep of CF ~ 0.3 mAh

[NHL]

power consumption of microdrive ~ 10x power of flash card.

That's my whole point! I've used the microdrives extensively for the last several years on my D7 and the effective camera use-time didn't decrease by 10... It's not even 25%! Remember most of the time the camera is either idle or in the sleep mode, the only time where it has to work hard is when that shutter is depressed, and during those times the high-power camera's CPU completely overwhelm what little (or lot) that the flash card (or microdrive) consumes. 8) 8) 8)

This is moot anyway when cheap and powerful AA NiMh rechargeable are plentiful. I wonder when/if Canon will make a AA battery (like on sLR) grip instead of this dual 511? Na.. it makes too much sense for the consumers to carry one less charger when travelling! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[DonalDuc]

I also use 4x AAs with 2000 or 2200 mAh (12 Euro for four 2200s), but I use also Canons 511 ... regular ~ 80-100 Euro, but from secondary source with more power (1350 mAh instead 1100) und golden contacts ~ 20 Euro, 20-25% from the originals price..

[eric s]

DonalDuc

I know this is a digression from the real topic, but which after-market 511 battery do you use? I might be looking for one myself.

Eric